The Others (2001)

A woman who lives in her darkened old family house with her two photosensitive children becomes convinced that the home is haunted.

Director:

Alejandro Amenábar

Writer:

Alejandro Amenábar

Stars:

Nicole Kidman, Christopher Eccleston, Fionnula Flanagan

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 29 wins & 51 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Nicole Kidman	...	Grace
Fionnula Flanagan	...	Mrs. Mills
Christopher Eccleston	...	Charles
Alakina Mann	...	Anne
James Bentley	...	Nicholas
Eric Sykes	...	Mr. Tuttle
Elaine Cassidy	...	Lydia
Renée Asherson	...	Old Lady
Gordon Reid	...	Assistant
Keith Allen	...	Mr. Marlish
Michelle Fairley	...	Mrs. Marlish
Alexander Vince	...	Victor
Ricardo López	...	2nd Assistant
Aldo Grilo	...	Gardener

Storyline

A woman named Grace retires with her two children to a mansion on Jersey, towards the end of the Second World War, where she's waiting for her husband to come back from battle. The children have a disease which means they cannot be touched by direct sunlight without being hurt in some way. They will live alone there with oppressive, strange and almost religious rules, until she needs to hire a group of servants for them. Their arrival will accidentally begin to break the rules with unexpected consequences.

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Plot Keywords:

mansion | haunting | surprise ending | suicide attempt | able to see the dead | 

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Taglines:

Close Every Door, Turn Off Every Light, And Look For The Others

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements and frightening moments

Details

Official Sites:

Central Partnership [Russia] Official Facebook

Country:

Spain USA France Italy

Language:

English French

Release Date:

10 August 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Darkness

Filming Locations:

Spain

Box Office

Budget:

$17,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$14,089,952, 12 August 2001

Gross USA:

$96,522,687

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$209,947,037

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cruise/Wagner Productions, Sogecine, Las Producciones del Escorpión

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bollywood has a remake called Hum Kaun Hai? (2004).

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Goofs

When Mrs. Mills gives Grace a few pills to calm her, they are in a plastic medicine bottle. Prescription and non-prescription pills weren't dispensed in plastic bottles until the mid 1960's.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Grace: Now children, are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin... This story started many thousands of years ago, and it was all over in just 7 days. All that long long time ago, none of the things we can see now, the sun, the moon, the stars, the earth, the animals and plants, not a single one existed. Only God existed. And so only he could have created them. And he did.

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Crazy Credits

Before the opening credits or music begin, we hear Grace's voice over a black screen; she says (in the manner of a mother about to tell a bedtime story), "Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin."

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Alternate Versions

Theatrical releases included a longer credit sequence with sketches of Nicole Kidman in the attic and the servants, SFX differences, and some lines of dialogue that were deleted from all subsequent home media releases and TV airings (most notably to make certain plot revelations less obvious).

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 20 Movies That Make You Afraid of the Dark (2019)

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Soundtracks

I Only Have Eyes for You
(1934)
Music by Harry Warren
Lyrics Al Dubin
Sung a cappella by Nicole Kidman (uncredited)
Published by WB Music Corp. (ASCAP)

User Reviews

Subtle, genuinely creepy and ... SUBTLE

The Others is a very remarkable film from more than just one viewpoint. In an era where you can only impress young horror fanatics with bucket-loads of blood and gross-out effects, Amenábar actually re-teaches his audience that fear is especially caused by suggestion and the absence of explicit images. The Others is the first intelligent horror film in years, completely relying on atmosphere and eerie set pieces. It's such a relief to finally see a subtle film that is also effective! I'm normally not much of Nicole Kidman fan but she's very convincing as the prudish, over-concerned mother who desperately tries to protect her children from the outside world (daylight in particular). She lives in a remote mansion and waits, along with her 2 children, for WWII to be over. With the arrival of 3 servants, strange events star to occur in the old house and the daughter spots 'intruders' everywhere. The screenplay - by Amenábar himself - is not totally unique (filmfreaks who're familiar with expressionism highlights from the 60's will quickly guess the hidden plot twist) but it's filled with ingenious findings and sublime dialogues. The Others reminds you of 'The Innocents' and there are far worse films to get compared with, if you ask me! What also is rather amazing about this production is that Amenábar seems so confident! This is his first giant Hollywood adventure with stars in the cast and American money and yet he has total control over everything. The acting is great, the plot actually scares you and the directing is solid. The Others is a total winner and easily one of the greatest genre-films of the last few decades.